Tom Thibodeau Says Derrick Rose Has ‘Got to Get Out There and Play’

Following a four-game absence due to a lingering left hamstring injury, Derrick Rose re-joined his Chicago Bulls teammates on the court in Utah for a 97-95 win against the Jazz.

Tom Thibodeau was asked about Rose feeling fatigued and rusty after such a long layoff, and the eternally-gruff head coach snapped at the media’s line of questioning.

Thibs, like all Bulls fans, just wants his point guard —- who had 18 points and 5 assists in 25 minutes of action Monday night — to be healthy enough to stay on the floor for a long stretch of games.

Per ESPN:

Asked whether Rose looked fatigued in the second half of Monday’s game, something the 26-year-old discussed before Monday’s shootaround in regard to his muscle recovery after missing more than a week, Thibodeau chafed.

“Oh, I don’t know. Jesus. He’s got to get out there and play,” Thibodeau said. “I thought he did a lot of good things. You could see he’s not real comfortable with the ball yet, but that will come. When Derrick strings some games together, he’s going to take off. He’s got to go. That’s the bottom line. He’s got to go.”

As is always the case with the Bulls, Rose’s lingering status continues to hover over everything they do. Thibodeau is optimistic that both Rose and (Pau) Gasol will be able to play against the Nuggets in the back end of the back-to-back. […] “I would hope so,” Thibodeau said. “Jeez. We’ll see [Tuesday], I guess.”